Jon Bon Jovi (3:23)

Thank you, babe. What an intro.

Bunny (3:25)

I'm ta. Listen. You have done so many interviews. I was so nervous because I was just like, what do you ask a man who has had thousands upon thousands of interviews and has been asked every question that you could possibly ask them, you know?

Jon Bon Jovi (3:39)

Yeah. Find a lot to talk about.

Bunny (3:41)

Oh, I did. I dug. I watched. I watched your documentary. It's called. Thank you. Good night. Extremely moving documentary. The highs, the lows. I mean, I was cheering, I was crying, I was pissed off at the manager. Like, there was a lot of stuff going on, and I was just like, this is such a beautiful testament to your life. Like, when you look back at that documentary, you have to feel nothing but just absolute pride.

Jon Bon Jovi (4:11)

Thank you. I saw Gotham Chopra last night, who I haven't seen in quite a while, and I'm proud of the piece. And I think the goal is to be proud of the piece in 10 more years from now, you know, but at this moment in time, I think it encapsulates that 40 years and that he got the truth. The unvarnished, not glossy, hurt first, you know, and the joy. The hurt.

Bunny (4:42)

He did an amazing job.

Jon Bon Jovi (4:44)

Thank you.

Bunny (4:44)

Of just showing your story. And, you know, as I was watching it, there were so many things about you that just captivated me. And I know that, you know, people have told you that throughout the years, but I just saw a man that was so tenacious, that was willing to do anything that he could to make. Make it to where you are today. And then I thought to myself, because I could see, like, your low points too. And I was just like, where does this man draw joy from? You know, after accomplishing so much in this world, like, it's gotta be hard after all of these goals that you have accomplished to just have joy for them and to find joy. Where do you find it?

Jon Bon Jovi (5:24)

That's a very good question and one that I probably couldn't answered in 20, 30, 40s, that it's after 60 that I started to think about that Because I think when I was coming up and growing up and fighting for our place, it was always nose to the grindstone, looking straight down, never taking the time to look at the beautiful clouds in the sky, if you know what I mean, metaphorically speaking. And I was really guilty of that. But it was like the part of me that wouldn't.

Bunny (6:06)

Accept.

Jon Bon Jovi (6:09)

The success, the part of me that was afraid of losing the success, the part of me that, you know, as a businessman, realized how hard it is to get it, so you have to keep it. And that even if you know it, the contributions of others really mattered. The truth was, unless I was driving the car, we were never going to get there. So it, you know, I had to work two shifts. And then on more than one occasion throughout the four decades, I would burn out. And I'm still trying desperately now, in this vocal comeback, to only do it if I have joy. If it's work, I really don't want to do it.

Bunny (7:01)

How will you know?

Jon Bon Jovi (7:02)

I unfortunately don't.

Bunny (7:04)

So you won't know until you walk back on that stage.

Jon Bon Jovi (7:06)

Yeah. And it's then. Then it becomes the. The yin and the yang of it. You know, I love the idea of performing if I'm healthy, nothing better. And like I say in the doc, if you realize during the. That short tour in 22 where I basically tried to will it back into existence, not knowing that the surgery was just not an option. It was a necessity. Literally every word of every song I was singing, but my brain was saying, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no. Good. Not good. Yes, no. Yes. Yep. Every note of every song. It was killing me.

Bunny (7:50)

It was a battle.

Jon Bon Jovi (7:51)

It was a terrible battle.

Bunny (7:53)

Can. I was gonna wait till later on in the interview, but let's talk about this journey that you've been going on with your vocal cords for people who are just tuning in and not maybe even knowing about the journey or not even having watched the documentary, you just went through a serious surgery to have your vocal cords repaired because they were. One of them was an atrophy.

Jon Bon Jovi (8:13)

Yeah.

Bunny (8:14)

Which for somebody who doesn't drink, somebody who doesn't smoke, somebody who literally lived their life preserving their vocal cords, the one thing that you cherished and babied is being taken from you. Can you take me on that journey?

Jon Bon Jovi (8:33)

It's a long talk.

Bunny (8:34)

Yeah.

Jon Bon Jovi (8:35)

But in truth, and in the short Reader's Digest version, it started 2014, I wasn't aware of it. It was trauma. By 2015, it just wasn't working right. And I wasn't quite sure when you say trauma.

Bunny (8:52)

Is it from not warming up properly?

Jon Bon Jovi (8:54)

No, it was. It was ancillary things like business and. And relationship, you know, Richie leaving the band, you know, which.

Bunny (9:04)

We'll get to that.

Jon Bon Jovi (9:04)

I wanted to do the record, you know, contract. There was a lot of business on my head as well as personal toil, hence the grain.

Bunny (9:13)

But you're a silver fox, you know, and you know it too, by that point.

Jon Bon Jovi (9:18)

I just said it. I'm gonna have gray hair, and it's cool with me.

Bunny (9:20)

I like it.

Jon Bon Jovi (9:22)

Something I'm not.

Bunny (9:22)

So Jay has a little gray hair in his beard, and I'm like, grow it out by salt and pepper, King. Do it, baby.

Jon Bon Jovi (9:29)

Well, he may live to regret it when you get on the other side.

Bunny (9:33)

My dad was a musician, and he dyed his hair black until the day that he passed away. And it just starts looking weird at what.

Jon Bon Jovi (9:40)

And that's what any logical conversation is.

Bunny (9:43)

So you're doing the right thing.

Jon Bon Jovi (9:44)

Well, this. This started to happen in 15, and I couldn't really understand why. And in 16, and we. We did a short, much shorter tour on an album called this House is Not for Sale, which was very successful, and it was number one record and all that kind of good stuff. But something was still going on so that by the time I got to 22 and, you know, now it's Covid and the world shuts down, I'm just saying, okay, I can will this thing back. And it just got to a point where I came off that stage in Nashville that night, and I said to Dorothy, it was good. And she goes, it wasn't good. And she's the only one on the planet that. That I know is not going to bullshit me. You're either surrounded by yes men or people that are getting paid or a fan or somebody that wants you to be good.

Bunny (10:34)

Yes.

Jon Bon Jovi (10:34)

You know, you do your best, but who's, you know, the. The confessional box. It's her. She's going to tell you, sorry it didn't work. So I. I ran to the doctor, I drove myself to the hospital, and that's how eager I was to. To start this journey. I didn't know it was going to be three plus years of recovery. I can tell you that. Honestly, you know, I'm singing really well, but something can trip the wire and take me down the rabbit hole.

Bunny (11:04)

So how is that mentally on your soul? Like, is that just like. So, like, your voice has always been your prized possession. So to have to one, get a surgery that has taken you three years to recover from that, brutally. Also because you've talked about all the holistic ways that you've tried to heal it. You have done everything you can, and at this point, it's pretty much in God's hands.

Jon Bon Jovi (11:29)

Right?

Bunny (11:30)

Does that scare you? Or are you so content now with everything that you've accomplished, that you're able to be able to sit down and maybe sit this one out if you had to?

Jon Bon Jovi (11:41)

I can absolutely, with conviction, tell you that if I. If I didn't perform again, my legacy set, I'm cool with it.

Bunny (11:49)

Oh, for sure.

Jon Bon Jovi (11:49)

I'm fine.

Bunny (11:50)

You're Jon Bon Jovi.

Jon Bon Jovi (11:51)

I'm good. You know, we. We're an awesome live band. We've sold a lot of records. I'm good. I'm good.

Bunny (11:57)

Spiritually.

Jon Bon Jovi (11:59)

I don't need the applause. I don't yearn for the applause. I never was that guy. I know a lot of performers who. Who don't like to sit at home with their loved ones and, you know, live for a suitcase. Not me. So I'm. I'd be totally fine with that. The only bitch that I had in this process was, okay, God, you took it away. Why, you know, let's fight to get it back? Because there could be some great joy and light that I could shine and. And, you know, is reciprocated from that. That audience that hears that, but only if it's that. And if it's not, it's not because of the applause, it's not because of the money, it's not because of the fame. I'll miss that, but I don't need that. I don't care. I really don't care.

Bunny (12:49)

So you'd be okay with, like, just diving into, like, would you ever just relax? Because one thing I've. Do you know how to relax? Because one thing I've noticed in the documentary and just knowing your hustle, just from being in the music industry with my husband, is you are a go getter. Like, you don't sit down. Like, do you know how to even relax?

Jon Bon Jovi (13:08)

I was a go getter when. When I first met Jelly. I loved what I heard on the record. Then I saw the man perform. Then I got to meet him. But then one of the first things we did was I interviewed him for Interview magazine. And in the magazine, I said to him, don't do too much. Don't go chasing every rainbow, because you're going to burn out. And you won't even know you're burned out. And in my youth, I was absolutely doing that. And that is My fear for him still today. Jelly, don't do too much.

Bunny (13:46)

We need you to talk to him again. Because he. I tell him that all the time. I'm like, babe, please, like, just sit down.

Jon Bon Jovi (13:52)

He's. He's. He's established, he's a big star. He's done it. He's proved it. He's an inspiration to millions of people. You don't have to chase every feature, you don't have to do every show. Go and chill for two years. I have absolutely learned how to do that out of necessity, but also because it's that place in life.

Bunny (14:13)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (14:13)

Your 20s, your 30s or 40s or 50s or 60s are different chapters, Right. You know, this chapter is a different chapter.

Bunny (14:21)

In the opening of the documentary, you're going through hundreds of videos, like VHS's. Not even just videos, VHSs, cassette tapes. Like, this generation of kids never could even understand or fathom the joy of being able to record your own radio songs. And, I don't know, it's just a different light. Yeah. Different era. Would you ever consider releasing some of those songs? You are.

Jon Bon Jovi (14:48)

Oh, yeah. We're in the midst of it. We have a serious radio channel that we slip them into. And, you know, record companies just don't mean what they used to. And so I. Because I have, I don't know, 40 or 50 songs that I forgot.

Bunny (15:01)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (15:02)

That, you know, we could put out on. On records, that we're just leaking them out this way because the record company is what they are. But, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Those we did. We archived everything. The clothes, the. The trophies, to the. To the notebooks, to the cassettes, to the. Because at 40 years, you had to. Or let's say we wanted to.

Bunny (15:26)

To be so ahead of your time to know. To save all of that stuff and to just. Like, your mind is magical. Like, it really is so cool. Like how just smart you are and just how business savvy. Like, it's really insane. You're almost like kind of like an Einstein when it comes to the music industry.

Jon Bon Jovi (15:42)

Not true.

Bunny (15:43)

Definitely a trendsetter, though, because you were doing a lot of things before people were doing it.

Jon Bon Jovi (15:48)

Yes. It is the norm now to be your, you know, own your masters and be yourself managed and all that kind of stuff, which I found interesting because we stumbled that some 30 years ago, and it was beneficial.

Bunny (16:00)

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Jon Bon Jovi (17:45)

Stage and the site is live that.

Bunny (17:47)

We opened a store and need a fast checkout. Stage thanks. You're all set that count it up and ship it around the globe Stage.

Jon Bon Jovi (17:54)

This one's going to Thailand and that.

Bunny (17:57)

Wait, did we just hit a million orders? Stage Whatever your Stage Businesses that grow grow with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 a month trial@shopify.com listen but even starting your own management company like back then also like no artist was doing that. Like you literally have always just been kind of like the pioneer of like what people should be doing.

Jon Bon Jovi (18:22)

Thank you. That's a very kind way to put it, I think it was born out of not necessity. It was born out of my witnessing that people could do the job well and get paid for the job. But who was going to be more passionate than. Than you?

Bunny (18:40)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (18:40)

Who's going to care more?

Bunny (18:42)

Exactly.

Jon Bon Jovi (18:42)

And we couldn't find that guy that was going to care more. So starting BJM was. Was advantageous.

Bunny (18:50)

It's amazing. So let's take it back for, like, the younger generation that listens to my podcast, and let's go all the way back to. To New Jersey, where you were born, and let's talk about your household that you grew up in, because your mom was a florist. But I just learned a really cool detail that your mom was actually also one of the originals. Original Playboy Bunnies. Like, how cool is that?

Jon Bon Jovi (19:19)

Let me compound it. My mother and father met in the Marines.

Bunny (19:23)

Oh, my God.

Jon Bon Jovi (19:24)

She was like the poster girl in the Marine Corps.

Bunny (19:27)

Oh.

Jon Bon Jovi (19:28)

You know, and so they met as Marines, and she ran away. Well, didn't run away, but she couldn't wait to enlist and said that the Marine Corps was nothing compared to her childhood. So she went and joined the Marines.

Bunny (19:43)

Wow.

Jon Bon Jovi (19:44)

Meets my pop.

Bunny (19:45)

That's a hell of a woman.

Jon Bon Jovi (19:47)

And then she becomes a Bunny after. So she's married. I don't think I'm born yet. Or I was just born. And with Lauren Hutton and Diane Lane, the actress's mother, and a woman who's husband was Scott Muni, who's a legendary DJ in New York from back in the day. They were all, like, the original Playboy Bunnies in the club on 57th 8th street in Manhattan.

Bunny (20:17)

That's such a piece of lore that people would not know about you. That's amazing.

Jon Bon Jovi (20:22)

Yeah, that's cool. I've seen pictures of her, like, you know, with Sinatra and the whole thing with my. My dad there and my uncle's there and, you know, all hanging out in the Playboy Club.

Bunny (20:31)

That's so cool. I was just about to say, like, for your dad to let your mom shine like that, too. Especially back in that e, like, housewives were not being playboy bunnies.

Jon Bon Jovi (20:40)

It's 1960. One, two, three.

Bunny (20:42)

Yeah, yeah. So it was like, you know, for. For your dad to be like, go ahead, you know, show. Let's go. Like, that's awesome. But also, your dad was a hairdresser too, right? Did he do your hair?

Jon Bon Jovi (20:54)

Sure.

Bunny (20:54)

Okay. I had to ask because I saw a couple interviews where you said you did it, and I was like, there's no way he was cutting his hair.

Jon Bon Jovi (21:01)

Like that. Well, there was a. You know, what year are we talking about?

Bunny (21:04)

You know what I mean? So gotcha. In the beginning, of course. Okay, so he's the one who originated the long hair.

Jon Bon Jovi (21:11)

Well, as much as I'd love to give him credit for that, it was a decade. It was the right. He was good at what he did. But that was the decade. That was the look. But yes, my dad was a hairdresser and he did do my hair cuts early on. Absolutely.

Bunny (21:29)

And then who started doing them after you?

Jon Bon Jovi (21:31)

You didn't really hire a hot girl.

Bunny (21:33)

There you go. He's like, I had to have a hot hairdresser. So let's talk about how you got into music because you didn't grow up in a musical household. No, it was a very unlikely person that inspired you, which I thought was really cool. Can we talk about that?

Jon Bon Jovi (21:48)

Sure. Like any kid, you want to be a baseball player, an astronaut, or a rock and roll star. Right. You know, it's simple dreams for simpler time. And like any other kid, I was strumming a broomstick and a guy moved in across the street and he was the hip young parent and he offered to give me a guitar lesson to teach me what a, you know, a song structure was and playing a cover song or two. And I did not pay attention. I wasn't a very good student until he yelled at me. And when he yelled at me, said, don't waste my time. It was sort of what I needed because that's what made me go home and learn the song to come back the next week. And the guy didn't give guitar lessons. He was just a hard working. I think he was an architect and. Or a designer something kind of engineer. And. And he played in the lounge band on the weekends. But to me that was a band. Right. And. And so he taught me and he taught another young boy in the neighborhood who started a band called Skid Row that came after us, but. So two guys went on to make records and sell a lot of records.

Bunny (22:57)

Wow.

Jon Bon Jovi (22:58)

Between us. And he only had three students ever.

Bunny (23:00)

That's amazing.

Jon Bon Jovi (23:02)

So he was a sweetheart of a guy. He died far too young. He died 30 years ago. So he died young.

Bunny (23:11)

And did he pass before he got to see your.

Jon Bon Jovi (23:14)

No, no, no. 95. So we were like 11 years into making.

Bunny (23:18)

Okay.

Jon Bon Jovi (23:20)

No, he was. He was there to witness a lot of it.

Bunny (23:25)

That's so special.

Jon Bon Jovi (23:26)

Yeah. Sweet guy.

Bunny (23:27)

One of the traits that I've noticed about you too, is that you bring people with you. I love that about you. Like People from your past or like people that you grew up with. Like, you always tried to bring them with you or like involve them in some way in your life or like, you know, just be in your business even. And I think that's such an admirable trait.

Jon Bon Jovi (23:45)

Well, there are a number that are still around. Yeah, I mean my, my, my brother's behind you. Young Louie over there, my assistant and right hand man. My best friend Obi o', Brien, since before I made records when I was like 18 years old. He's still our recording engineer. So there are still a number of them around, which is, which is good. And you know, also the loyalty of, of Tico and of Dave and of Hugh McDonald and those guys that were here forever and through this three years and you know, sitting in rehearsals when it was painful for me to try to work these last three years, but they were there and it's greatly appreciated.

Bunny (24:29)

You remind me so much of my husband. Like there's so many similarities between you and him.

Jon Bon Jovi (24:34)

I thought so, yeah.

Bunny (24:36)

You guys are definitely kindred souls.

Jon Bon Jovi (24:38)

I think so, yeah, definitely. Except he throws his phones away and doesn't get back to me. But I won't take that person.

Bunny (24:43)

All you have to do is text.

Jon Bon Jovi (24:44)

I'm going to get your number down because this way I'll get a hold of the son of a bitch.

Bunny (24:47)

Anybody who wants to.

Jon Bon Jovi (24:49)

I knew not to be offended.

Bunny (24:50)

Never anybody who wants to get a hold of my husband always talks to me and I get it straight to him and he always responds, but he really does stay off his phone so much.

Jon Bon Jovi (24:59)

That's good.

Bunny (25:00)

I had said this earlier, but, you know, watching the documentary, I had found so many traits of you that I just absolutely adored. And one of them was your tenacity. Where do you think that hunger and that for just life came from? Because that's not something that can be taught. That's something that's instilled in you.

Jon Bon Jovi (25:23)

Dorothea says in the doc, you know, I would will things to happen manifesting. And I think that that largely came from my parents, if only because, and this isn't to be wisecracker about it, the drinking age in New Jersey was 18. So you could be 16 and 17 and sneak into a club. At that time you didn't have a lot of responsibility and so, you know, you could play in a bar. While I was cutting my teeth playing in those bars under age I started to get good enough to at least where my parents said, okay, if you're going to be at a bar until 2 in the morning on a school night. At least we know where you are.

Bunny (26:02)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (26:02)

And we know that you're doing this with a goal in mind. So it's good to have had their support. And then, you know, truthfully, as I sit here at 63 years old, I can tell you now that I realize, like my mother would be the one to say, this is the smart decision. Learn about this. I would tell her an influence, and she'd say, well, that's nice, but listen to your influences, influence. And to say that to a young kid, you go, oh, right, yeah. You know, and that's where you learned like History of Music.

Bunny (26:36)

Absolutely.

Jon Bon Jovi (26:37)

Some stuff like that. That was really important.

Bunny (26:39)

Yeah, no, but it. Look where it got you. So talking about these under underaged clubs that you were playing in and drinking in, let's go to Asbury Park. My father is actually from Kew Gardens, Queens, and we grew up with mad respect for Asbury park because he played out there. Also. Tell me about your relationship with Bruce Springsteen and meeting him for the first time and just getting involved in that whole area.

Jon Bon Jovi (27:05)

Well, if you're from here, that's the Mount Rushmore of the rock and roll scene in New Jersey. Obviously there's Frank Sinatra, who would be, you know, God, but Bruce would certainly be George Washington. And you know, on Mount Rushmore, I.

Bunny (27:22)

Love that you put Frank Sinatra as God over, like yourself and Bruce.

Jon Bon Jovi (27:25)

Oh, God, no, no, no, no, no. I'm nothing more than the next generation generation. Or the Prince. As I say, you know, he's. They're, they're. Bruce is the King.

Bunny (27:33)

Yeah.

Jon Bon Jovi (27:35)

No, no, no, no. First and foremost. So Bruce was what put New Jersey rock and roll as we know it. Not Frankie Valli and not going back to Frank Sinatra at the Bobby Soccers, but contemporary rock and roll, early 70s.

Bunny (27:50)

Yes.

Jon Bon Jovi (27:50)

Put it on the map. And so if his first record was 1973, I was only 11 years old, but by the time that 79, 78, 79, I was sneaking in those clubs. So Also, there were seven members of the E Street Band. There were 10 members of the Asbury Jukes. So chances are one of 17 was.

Bunny (28:16)

Going to be in the bar to.

Jon Bon Jovi (28:18)

See you play and you would meet them and you would befriend them or they would mentor you or, or you could just stand there in awe of them. So, you know, it was pretty neat to see your heroes in person, because when the posters on my wall were Led Zeppelin or, you know, AC DC or the Kinks or something, that was. Was impossible. It was a poster 25 miles south of my house was in the day we headed out on the streets of our own royal American. That was down the street.

Bunny (28:56)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (28:56)

You know, when he talks about Highway 9, that was out my window. So that made the impossible possible. And. And that was very inspirational because you thought you could make the impossible possible. And so the years go on. Of course we meet, of course we get to know each other a little bit as our relationship goes on. And he's one of what, two celebrities in the. In the whole four part doc, he and Southside Johnny, because they were so influential to me as a kid. And Johnny produced some of the first demos I ever did where Bruce jumps up on stage with me when the next morning I go to high school.

Bunny (29:37)

That's insane. Like, what a story to tell.

Jon Bon Jovi (29:41)

You're telling your teacher. I got bigger plans. Yeah.

Bunny (29:44)

Like, I don't even need to be here.

Jon Bon Jovi (29:46)

Well, it was a dumb way to be, you know, to behave, even though, you know, in retrospect you could or should have been.

Bunny (29:53)

But youth.

Jon Bon Jovi (29:54)

It was a great story.

Bunny (29:55)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

Jon Bon Jovi (29:57)

You know, and pictures to prove it. So, you know, as we've grown and grown up and he's been a big brother now, even at this point in.

Bunny (30:06)

My life, he's so supportive.

Jon Bon Jovi (30:08)

We're very close. Yeah, yeah.

Bunny (30:10)

No, it's awesome. It was beautiful to see. I was actually surprised to see him in the documentary, which I don't know why, because you guys are New Jersey boys. But it was just really cool to see and it. It just reminded me of a really cool time in music that I wish we could go back to.

Jon Bon Jovi (30:24)

Very special time here because the scene down there also supported original music, which was not like anywhere else. Nashville I came to know 10 years later, obviously, you know, fostered songwriting.

Bunny (30:40)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (30:41)

And I always say about Nashville, now, those are my people.

Bunny (30:43)

Yeah.

Jon Bon Jovi (30:45)

So. But here in Asbury, they. They encouraged you to. To write your own stuff and play original music, and they supported it, which was what it's all about.

Bunny (30:55)

Let's talk about writing your own music. Because before you did start, I mean, you've always written your own music, but you had a cover band named Atlantic City Expressway and there was. How many members were there? 10. Because I noticed there was a trend. Everybody had big groups back then. Yeah. Is that what that was?

Jon Bon Jovi (31:15)

I had five horns.

Bunny (31:16)

Yeah. Do you. And do you still have horns? No. You got rid of.

Jon Bon Jovi (31:20)

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. But back in the day, in truth, I was emulating Southside Johnny.

Bunny (31:26)

We gotcha.

Jon Bon Jovi (31:27)

They Were just such inspirations to me. There's a sign over your shoulder that, you know, the cameras probably don't see, but see the reflection. It is the COVID of their fourth album called the Jukes. And as I sat in a warehouse, Johnny said, you can have it. So that's what that. That's what that is. But I was playing R B and soul music and Asbury Juke music and Bruce music and a little bit of rock and roll that would work with horns. But I was 18. I'm playing in a nightclub one night. I'm opening for a band that to me came off like the Muppet version of the E Street Band. And I know even at 18, I am the Muppets of the Southside. Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. And the guy comes into my dressroom and goes, yo, Johnny, I know everyone says you're pretty good. Well, you should be like me. And I'm thinking to myself, you're trying to sound like Bruce. You look like Bruce. There's only one Bruce. I know I'm 18, but I'm not dumb. I looked at my own band. I said, I quit. And I walked out on my own band. And I went and I asked the guy that had an original band. You need a singer. I could be your guy. I want to be in an original band. And from there I started to learn the process of writing initially from him, and then started doing it more and more and more because that band was very short lived. But I. I knew to get the hell out of being in the Muppets.

Bunny (32:52)

But how cool is that that you knew the trajectory of what you wanted? You were like, you know what? I'm singing cover songs. I'm about to just go and be my own person. And then you went and you got a job at a radio station.

Jon Bon Jovi (33:03)

A recording studio.

Bunny (33:04)

A recording studio. I'm so sorry.

Jon Bon Jovi (33:05)

I was a gopher.

Bunny (33:06)

I went and got a job there. But then you got to see so many iconic legends like Aerosmith and tons of other people. Diana. Diana Ross, just so many other people. And you got to learn kind of your chops from them. Like you soaked up everything that you could in that recording studio.

Jon Bon Jovi (33:25)

Well, I did what I could because when you're the gopher, you're. You're asked to bring the beer and the burgers in and then to leave. But what I remember, the biggest thing that I learned then and there was the bigger the star, the nicer the person. A, it was the people that were the B and the C players who usually acted as such, you know, And Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were unbelievably cool.

Bunny (33:48)

Dude, that's so cool, you know, and.

Jon Bon Jovi (33:49)

Little Stephen and the E Street Band obviously knew me and we're incredibly cool. There were people that were on the B and the C and they didn't no longer exist. That would absolutely demean, you know, the burger's cold and the beer is warm. You know, just. Man, I got as quick as I could, that kind of stuff. So while I was really nothing more than the gopher, I was cutting demos late at night on weekends and figuring it out. Going to a radio station was revolutionary. That to me was the brilliance because I thought, who's the loneliest man in the music business? A DJ who loves music more than a dj. If he doesn't have an audience, he doesn't have anybody with him. He's telling you about something, right? And that's all he's doing. He doesn't even know he's talking to. And I was fortunate enough to go to this radio station that was so new, they didn't have a receptionist.

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Jon Bon Jovi (36:55)

And the DJ himself came out and he said, wait. Came after the shift. I played him run away. He says, you know, it's a hit. And I said, I know, but no one will get back to me. They put it on the radio in New York and that was it. I got a record deal.

Bunny (37:07)

That's amazing. The. I actually had a question about the song Runaway, because that is my favorite song of yours. It resonates with me so much because of a former life that I had. And you said in the documentary that you wrote it about the working girls on the street. Did you ever talk to any of those girls?

Jon Bon Jovi (37:26)

Yeah, small talk. Because we'd be, you know, in the bus station, you know, you. I knew I had the good fortune of having come from a home with two parents, and, you know, I was taking that bus just to walk 15 blocks up to the studio. You know, I wasn't hanging out at the Greyhound station. I was coming in a mass transit and walking up to the studio. So I would talk to the boys and the girls and then, you know, ended up supporting Covenant House, for example, around the block, years later, because of the stories I would hear, you know, or the tricks that you. New York was pretty seedy at the time, you know, and that inspired the song.

Bunny (38:06)

I think it's awesome.

Jon Bon Jovi (38:07)

Yeah. Because I got to walk north and they. They weren't.

Bunny (38:10)

Yeah. I never knew the lure of that song or, or why it resonated so much with me even as a child. And it was just like, it's crazy that, you know, the, the trajectory of my life that it took. So you literally took this cassette tape and put it in the hands of people and it got into the hands of the right person from. Was it WAPP radio station? And they're the ones that started playing it and then your career just starts taking off from here.

Jon Bon Jovi (38:38)

Yeah.

Bunny (38:39)

How do you feel in this moment? Because you've been working so hard since you were, you know, a kid pretty much trying to get to this moment. Are you happy or do you just want more?

Jon Bon Jovi (38:53)

Well, you didn't know what more was. You were happy, but of course you wanted more. Because I don't think in the moment anyone celebrates you or it.

Bunny (39:01)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (39:02)

Because you, you know, you're in the midst of signing a record deal, you're in the midst of releasing a record, you're in the midst of being out there in the world. But you're a support actor, you're playing in a club with your first record. So none of it really catches up to you for a while. And I was absolutely guilty. Like I said as we started the interview, looking at my shoes, too focused on tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.

Bunny (39:25)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (39:26)

To enjoy the today's. By the time we got the Slippery When Wet, which really was a, you know, historically big record, I should have truly been taking it in and I was not. You know, it was the burnout that all came with it because he was so anxious to do it again, to prove it again to, you know, how do I fig top this? Oh, my God, you can't. Yes, I can. It was murder. But that's okay. I think at 25, 26, you should still have that fire and.

Bunny (39:58)

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. That's a great analogy. Let's talk about your relationship with Richie Sambora because he comes on the scene after you, you guys meet and you bring him into the band.

Jon Bon Jovi (40:12)

Yeah.

Bunny (40:12)

I just feel like there is so much love between you guys and you've always been so diplomatic in your answers with him and I really respect that. But there's also another side of competitiveness and more on his side of ego, possibly. And I don't, you know, I don't know the man, so I'm just saying what I see. Take me on that journey with you guys. Complex relationship through the years if you can.

Jon Bon Jovi (40:40)

I will try to do my best. The great thing that I have said about him throughout our lives was you would be lucky to call him your friend. And I mean that. Talented. Beyond beyond. As a guitar player, as a singer, as a collaborator. Wonderful right hand man. Awesome. Couldn't ask for more.

Bunny (41:04)

Yeah.

Jon Bon Jovi (41:08)

I was, I was not competitive because it's my band and I don't think I ever saw that, to be honest. Yeah, my, my heartbreak with him is the way he walked out on us.

Bunny (41:28)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (41:30)

Compounded by the fact that it took him years to come back in the room just to have a meal with Tico and David and I and. And say, I'm sorry. It's unfortunate, it's heartbreaking, but if what he wanted was to be, you know, just Richie Sambora, not a member of Bon Jovi, do it.

Bunny (41:55)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (41:56)

I always encourage all of my guys because, you know, just my attitude was, bring the information back that you learn outside. It'll only help us share it.

Bunny (42:08)

Yeah.

Jon Bon Jovi (42:08)

And so for whatever reason, you know, he walked out and then that was that. But I can't defend or accuse in any. And it's just not worth it anymore. Anymore.

Bunny (42:20)

Absolutely.

Jon Bon Jovi (42:20)

So many years. I just, you know, if you can't you get it together, then it's not on us.

Bunny (42:24)

Right?

Jon Bon Jovi (42:24)

Exactly. I love the man. Heartbroken that he walked out on us.

Bunny (42:29)

Yes.

Jon Bon Jovi (42:30)

That's the best thing I say.

Bunny (42:31)

Absolutely. I feel like you were the glue that held the band together. Like you. That's got to be so much pressure on just one human to be. Wear all of the hats and then also have to, like, make sure everybody's okay because, like, you weren't drinking, you weren't doing drugs, you weren't doing the partying. But it seems like as the band progressed and everybody started making a lot more money and getting more fame, the vices started coming, and that had to been pretty heavy for you to have to try to hold everybody together.

Jon Bon Jovi (43:07)

I don't deserve all the credit either. I absolutely don't. I really don't. It was a team effort, truly, always. Richie's contributions could never be discounted. And then, therefore, David and Tico and the poor ghost of Hugh McDonald, because he wasn't even credited as the bass player for many years while he really was, because Alec wasn't in physical shape. So everybody's contributions is why this worked. I don't deserve that, but somebody had to be the quarterback on the team. That. That's really what I. The credit I will take is that I was, you know, driving the car so I would keep things focused, but couldn't have done it without everyone's contributions.

Bunny (44:03)

I love how humble you are, and you're just always.

Jon Bon Jovi (44:05)

It's just truth.

Bunny (44:06)

Yeah.

Jon Bon Jovi (44:07)

I don't deserve any more credit than that. It was the sum of the parts made for the whole.

Bunny (44:14)

I adore. I adore that about you. Playing Madison Square Garden for the first time, it didn't go exactly as planned. And you're up there scared shitless, but still rocking. It was There any other time in your career that you had that you were just as scared as you were in that moment?

Jon Bon Jovi (44:35)

I was too dumb to be scared.

Bunny (44:37)

Oh, gosh.

Jon Bon Jovi (44:37)

That night, I do remember it like it was yesterday. Which is funny because you know how it is. You can't remember something from last week, but you can remember something from 42, three years ago. We're on the stage, Madison Square Garden. The promoter of the show wanted to be our manager and his play was, look, I can always get you work. Come and open for ZZ Top, Madison Square Garden. We're given a 30 minute opportunity before the record comes out, but it's finished. Other managers all fly in, scurrying to try to keep up with this one. Who take the stage. Richie's guitar doesn't work, so I have mine on and I have to go. Okay, think quick. Give him mine and let's go. So now a 30 minute set becomes 17 minutes because we played like the Ramones, fastest set of all times. I don't think we were scared. I think we were excited. I think I can remember the crowd chanting ZZ Top, but I can remember with my bar band chops. None of us were afraid of the moment. We knew how to handle a heckler. We knew how to sing the songs. It was just twice as fast.

Bunny (45:49)

Right, right.

Jon Bon Jovi (45:51)

And I do remember that we probably had more people backstage than anyone ever at Madison Square Garden. You know, like we got yelled.

Bunny (45:58)

Cause it was your first time. How exciting. I think we did that too. Whenever J first played Madison Square Garden, I think you just, you're so excited. You just want to show everybody in your family, like, look, I made it. I'm sold out. Madison Square Garden.

Jon Bon Jovi (46:11)

Yeah.

Bunny (46:11)

No, that's amazing. Slippery when Wet. You named the album after a strip club shower.

Jon Bon Jovi (46:22)

True.

Bunny (46:22)

Did you ever find yourself in that shower?

Jon Bon Jovi (46:24)

No. They would never let a guy up in that stage.

Bunny (46:27)

Tell me about the shower.

Jon Bon Jovi (46:29)

Vancouver was the Wild West. It was an amazing moment in time. This jewel of a city. Before Internet, before cell phones, before fax machines, you. There was no direct flights there. So this was, you know, not the wild west, but it was a long way away. And the producer of that album, our third album, was willing to do the record if we would consent to come there. Well, we were all single. We were young. We were. We didn't have houses or anything. Still, we were like, sure, okay, we'll go there. We didn't realize also the city was blossoming. It was coming into its own. It had the World Expo there at the time. And one of the fun things was all the bars were fully nude. They would. They were busy because you'd go there for lunch. You know, you could eat good food in there. And one of the traits at this one place called the Number Five Orange was that the gals would jump into a shower at the end of each of their sets and soap up. And when the album was originally called Wanted, Dead or Alive, we shot a cover all having grown beards and mustaches. So I looked like Jelly, right? I had a beard and a mustache. And we had dusters on which came down to the ground. And we looked like, you know, the. The silly cowboy gang. And the. The record company flew up and they saw the photographs, and basically the PR lady said, over my dead body.

Bunny (48:10)

Oh, no.

Jon Bon Jovi (48:11)

Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Everyone's shaving. You know, she. I'm too dumb to know better. She's like, oh, no, no, no, no. Cute boy. Go shave that off your face.

Bunny (48:21)

I thought you looked great with a beard. I actually thought it was hot. Whenever they showed the pictures in the.

Jon Bon Jovi (48:26)

Documentary Six, it was not going to fly for this third album, they wanted that baby face and wanted Dead or Alive was not going to be it. So we jokingly said that, you know, the roadside on the way up there, Slippery when Wet was where the title came from, but it really was this. And we then shot a second cover. In this day and age, before fax machines or Internet, they sent me a cropped photo. The girl that we found on the beach, the photographer found on the beach, was shot from her bottom lip down to above her navel. Okay, it's her boobs, but she had a T shirt on and the glass was soaped up. Apparently the PMRC at the time were going to go nuclear and not allow this to happen. So they were like, no. And when they sent me the copy and I was, it didn't it. The COVID wasn't working for me anyhow. It was all blue because Xerox would send you a copy, but it was one color. It was varying shades of blue. And I said, I don't get this cropping. And by the way, what colors are the album cover? He says it's the colors of the picture, but it's hot pink around the entire border to match her lipstick. And all I could think was this was career suicide. And I won't name the artist, but there was a video of an artist who at the time was crawling around in pink sheets on an MTV video, and he was a headliner in arenas and he was Done right the next day. And I was like, this will kill our career. And the company said, you give love of Bad Names already on the radio, we've printed a half a million copies. This album's going out. And I said, it is not going out. And they said, if we don't have an album cover tomorrow. Thinking that I couldn't come up with an album cover photographer and I went into his studio. We took a hefty garbage bag, sprayed it with water. I wrote with my finger, slippery when wet. And I said, turn it in. And I said, if it's good enough for Back in Black, it's good enough for Bon Jovi Black album cover. Boom.

Bunny (50:32)

It was like, one of the most iconic album covers.

Jon Bon Jovi (50:35)

Crazy. A garbage bag.

Bunny (50:37)

It's insane, right?

Jon Bon Jovi (50:39)

A garbage bag. Because they didn't have pictures. That's why there's only a teeny little picture of us on the river here. And the picture inside was the driveway of my apartment building, which was just everyone hanging out on the beach.

Bunny (50:54)

Isn't it crazy? Like, you can try so hard to make an album cover, and then when you don't try, it just goes completely viral. Which viral wasn't a thing back then.

Jon Bon Jovi (51:02)

But not a thing.

Bunny (51:03)

You were viral.

Jon Bon Jovi (51:03)

It was a pretty rotten album cover, but it was a very big record.

Bunny (51:08)

It was an amazing.

Jon Bon Jovi (51:10)

It was an amazing album, but it shoulda, coulda. I've never been very good at album covers.

Bunny (51:16)

I think you've done just fine in your life with album covers.

Jon Bon Jovi (51:19)

Yeah.

Bunny (51:20)

So during all of this, you are literally just becoming this rock star icon. You are with Dorothea.

Jon Bon Jovi (51:28)

Yeah.

Bunny (51:29)

And you guys are high school sweethearts. How did you guys navigate all of these emotions as you're climbing high to rockstar status?

Jon Bon Jovi (51:41)

Well, the key at the end of the day is that we navigated it together because we were 18 in high school. She's seen every aspect of this. And, you know, when I was playing in the bar, playing cover band music, to being in an original band, of having my own original band, like, all the way up the ladder, therefore, nothing was going to be a surprise to her because we were living it together. You know, I was in. In a rock band, but we were at that age together, so it's. Nothing was deeper than the connection that we had.

Bunny (52:24)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (52:24)

You know, that's really what mattered.

Bunny (52:26)

You guys did have a brief breakup in 1985. Can we touch base on that? Respectfully, yeah. You guys had a brief breakup and you started dating Diane Lane, which you mentioned earlier. Diane Lane's mom was a bunny with your mom. So is that the connection that you guys.

Jon Bon Jovi (52:44)

No, no.

Bunny (52:44)

You never even met.

Jon Bon Jovi (52:45)

We met through a guy named Aldo Nova. I made a couple records and we met in, you know, 1984. Ish. No. So it was a very brief time that we were together in 1985. But I think that truthfully, after the first record, Dorothea was kind of like, bye, you know, I see. Yeah, you took off. Now you're gone for nine months and, you know, life goes on. And I'm here and you're there and you know, where do I fit into this? And so I think that she was not buying what I was selling. So in 1985, I came back, going into my second album and went to her parents house where she lived and you know, like did the whole John Cusack basically standing outside.

Bunny (53:40)

I have that in my notes. I swear to God. I said, how did you win her back? Were you standing outside?

Jon Bon Jovi (53:46)

Yeah, you know, I was like, you know, to her mom, you know, hey, she home? You know, called up a couple times. And then we were playing at the Meadowlands, which is what it was called, and I was just the opening act. But our second album, which had gone gold, I said, would you come? And we're playing at the Meadowlands and we're gonna do this gold album presentation. It'd be cool if you were there. And so we picked it up from there and it just. Thank God, you know, I won her back.

Bunny (54:12)

One last question about Diane. Was the song you Give Love a bad name inspired by her? Okay. Because there's so many rumors out there.

Jon Bon Jovi (54:21)

And I was just like, she was a sweetheart. It was a very brief moment in time.

Bunny (54:25)

Gotcha again.

Jon Bon Jovi (54:26)

It was before cell phones. I didn't ever cell phone. Like, it was like I'd have to call a number to get a hold of her.

Bunny (54:32)

Right.

Jon Bon Jovi (54:33)

So no, no, it's just a brief.

Bunny (54:34)

Moment in time when you and Dorothea got back together and you guys are going on this journey. You guys decide to start having babies. Let's talk about that. Because you're a dad and now you're actually a grandpa. How cool is that? I didn't know until I was doing my research that your son Jake is married to Millie Bobby Brown. How was it meeting her and welcoming her in the family?

Jon Bon Jovi (55:03)

She's a sweetheart and she's a hard worker since childhood. Yeah. I mean, I. I tell her all the time how much I admire her because her work ethic is unbelievable. You know, it, it. They got married very young. But we blessed it because we, we get it, you know, they're sort of mature beyond their years. She comes from a family where her parents are still together and they married very young. Her and Jake fell in love, and we just thought, okay, you know, we'll support this. And. And it's. It's working out.

Bunny (55:40)

And what's it like being a grandpa?

Jon Bon Jovi (55:42)

Crazy, but great. Wonderful. They adopted a girl and we met the baby, obviously, and, you know, immediately that becomes your grandchild. You know what I mean? Your baby.

Bunny (55:54)

Yeah, absolutely.

Jon Bon Jovi (55:56)

So it's beautiful. I want to see pictures, like, every other day. I'm that pain in the butt guy already. And. And, yeah, so it's cool. And. And, you know, our son Jesse, and he, his wife, they're going to have a baby. So suddenly it's a shift again.

Bunny (56:11)

Isn't it crazy just to see life through all the eras? Yeah, it's wild, right? And it's like you can't stop it. Life just keeps going.

Jon Bon Jovi (56:19)

It certainly.

Bunny (56:21)

It does not wait for anyone at all. Moving on from all of the great grandpa news and stuff like that. As a father, can you just tell me what your most valuable lesson has been that your kids have taught you?

Jon Bon Jovi (56:43)

One thing you come to know in parenting as you get to a certain stage and age is they were all uniquely different. And I, Dorothy and I have four kids. It's a big surprise to me that from the same parents, in the same house for all the same years, they're very different.

Bunny (57:03)

All different.

Jon Bon Jovi (57:04)

Crazy.

Bunny (57:05)

I always tell everybody, you can grow up in the. In the same house, a different home.

Jon Bon Jovi (57:10)

Yeah. Now it makes more sense when you think about, you know, where we were by the time Romeo was born. And so, you know, different philosophies just based on living life, but it's still the same makeup. It's how to teach us a little more patience. Like, I'm not the boss anymore. I. I definitely do not get to dictate the terms. You know, like, daddy would be driving. You know, it's like, okay, everyone in the back seat, no more. You know, which is. Takes a little getting used to. But when they grow up and you see what they're doing, it's a moment of great pride because even though, you know they're going to stumble and you know they're going to get their knees scuffed up, I like who they're becoming, so I'm pretty proud. Well, I'm very proud of all four of them because they're uniquely individual and they know where they came from, but they also want to be their own person. Which is big. Big. None of them wants to live as the son of or the daughter of.

Bunny (58:23)

I love that.

Jon Bon Jovi (58:24)

Yeah.

Bunny (58:24)

It's hard to let go, though. It's hard because we have. We've been raising one of Jay's daughters since she was 7, and she's 17 now. And this year I've had to learn to let go. And I'm just like. And it's actually kind of working out a lot more, but I'm just like. I don't want to, you know, like, I just want. I don't want you to spread your wings yet.

Jon Bon Jovi (58:43)

Yeah, yeah. Right. Because they could get hurt. Yeah, it's part of the process.

Bunny (58:49)

Yeah, absolutely. So let's talk about this new tour that you have coming up and this album that is coming out. My husband's on the album. You have a bunch of people. Yeah, let's talk about it. Take me on this journey, this next era.

Jon Bon Jovi (59:02)

June, when the documentary came out, it was going to accompany our album, which was called Bon Jovi Forever. Very, very proud of the record. Very excited about the record. We released the record with the doc, and I'm unable to perform, and I know it. And I have to say to everybody, there's no tour. And in this day and age, which is different than when we began, when you don't support a record, when by doing TV shows and. Or touring, that is the day that record dies. Not slowly, not second single, third single, falls off the cliff and dies. There was just nothing I could do about it. And I could have easily wiped my hands of the record. But having lived through 2020 and the COVID issue and the record before that, where I was injured with this House Is not for Sale, I've been making these records. And unable to support him was heartbreaking. So with this one, I said, I've got a thought. Let's see. And the bumper sticker phrase would be with a little help from my friends. So I asked a handful of close friends. I'm hurt. Can you help? Jelly, of course, was the first one. You know, he was right there. Immediately I said, would you sing on this song for me so it'll come out when it's done and I get enough guys. And Jason Isbell was probably second, and Bruce and Marcus King and Warren Treaty and Lainey, who's, I guess, like a sister to Jelly?

Bunny (60:40)

Well, we love Lainey Lane's our Warren Treaty, too. We love them. Michael and Tanya talked to them today. I love them to pieces.

Jon Bon Jovi (60:46)

Me too.

Bunny (60:47)

Yeah, they're amazing.

Jon Bon Jovi (60:48)

So great people. Joe Elliott from Def Leppard, Avril Lavigne. Just great talents. Robbie Williams. It's incredible. Ryan Tedder. And so then I put this record together, Corinne Leon, for a Spanish version of one of the songs. So I took my Nashville friends, my old, you know, rock and roll connections, girls, country, international, Spanish, so I could try to re release the record with the intention of giving it life that it deserves under the guise of, you know, with a little help from my friends, in the hope that I will be able to announce some shows finally for next year. And so that's the plan.

Bunny (61:40)

Yes.

Jon Bon Jovi (61:41)

Plans are made to change, but that is my intention.

Bunny (61:44)

And you guys do have intention to tour.

Jon Bon Jovi (61:47)

Yeah.

Bunny (61:48)

And this can be off the record. We can cut this out, too. You haven't announced?

Jon Bon Jovi (61:51)

No, we haven't announced these yet. Yeah, no. There was a rock show over in the singing room yesterday for two hours of me doing it on a daily basis. And then, you know, you just hope that it's all going to hold together. But I am healed. The process is what it is. And we're just hoping that everyone else is healthy and that we're going to.

Bunny (62:15)

It's going to be amazing. And you guys are going to rock it. And the fact that you guys are still selling out places like you guys have done for decades now, just speaks volumes of just that. Your fan base and the people who love you. So I know that the minute you do, guys do drop this tour, it's going to sell out. People are coming.

Jon Bon Jovi (62:34)

Thank you. That would be nice.

Bunny (62:36)

Yeah, no, they will. They will. All right. And I have one last question for you. If you could go back to 1985, John, standing in front of a stadium crowd, what's the one thing you would whisper in your ear?

Jon Bon Jovi (62:48)

Enjoy this. Just step back from the microphone, take it in. Look up. You deserve to be here. You earned it, you know, now just enjoy it.

Bunny (63:04)

It's beautiful.

Jon Bon Jovi (63:05)

Yeah.

Bunny (63:05)

John, thank you so much for being here today. I am so excited for what you have coming up. And you're going to catch Jay and I at a show for sure.

Jon Bon Jovi (63:13)

Yay. Thank you.

Bunny (63:14)

We're coming, baby. Thank you guys so much for tuning in to another episode of Dumb Blonde. I will see you guys next week. Bye.